A follow-up on first-year growth and development of very low birth weight preterm infants

Objective To investigate the physical growth and psychomotor development of very low birth weight(VLBW) preterm infants in the first year, in order to provide scientific basis for promoting growth and improving development prognosis. Methods A total of 108 VLBW preterm infants who were managed by the project of Children's Health Center of the Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2017 to January 2019 were enrolled in this study, Meanwhile, 187 full-term infants were randomly selected as the control group. Weight, length and head circumference of the infants were regularly measured at corrected age of 1, 3, 6, 12 months old and WHO Anthro software was used to calculate the Z-scores of the weight, length and head circumference.The neuropsychological development examination table for children aged 0-6 years old was used to evaluate the neuropsychological development level of all the infants. The growth indicators of premature and full-term infants were compared by repeated measures analysis of variance. Results (1) The weight and head circumference of VLBW preterm infants showed an upward trend in Z score within corrected age of 6 months old, but the increase was not obvious at the corrected age of 6 to 12 months old. The length showed an upward trend in Z score within the corrected age of 12 months old.(2) The Z score of weight was similar between the two groups at corrected age of 1 to 6 months old. However, at correction age of 12 months old, the Z scores of weight in the VLBWI premature infant group were lower than that in the full-term group(P= 0. 017). The Z scores of length and head circumference were similar between the two groups at corrected age of 3 to 12 months old.(3) At the corrected age of 12 months old, there were no significant differences on gross motor, fine motor and personal-social level between the two groups(P> 0. 05). However, the level of adaptability and language development of VLBWI premature infants was still lower than that of the control group(P< 0. 05). Conclusion VLBWI preterm infants have catch-up growth in physical development within the corrected age of 12 months old, with the speed of the catch-up growth going quickly at first and then slowing down. And there are imbalances indevelopment dimensions.